Professor Sean Dunne’s research published in Sport in Society

Date

August 29, 2016

Information

Sean Dunne was published in the Sport in Society journal on August 22, 2016.

Sean Dunne, Assistant Professor of Sociology at Shawnee State University, had his
article, “#WeAreTrayvonMartin: The Racially Packaged NBA Commodity and the Fatal Shooting
of Trayvon Martin,” published in the Sport in Society journal on August 22, 2016.

Dunne’s article utilizes Walter Benjamin’s concept of dialectical image to contextualize
racial narratives in contemporary United States. It examines techniques employed by
the National Basketball Association (NBA) in the racial packaging of its product including
selection of commentators, content of commentary, the NBA’s dress code and the minimum
age requirement. The article incorporates the NBA’s commodification of black masculinity
within dialectical images found within the reactions to the fatal shooting of Trayvon
Martin and uses them to illuminate tensions carefully packaged within the racial narratives
found in the NBA but kept hidden.

“I’m very pleased to publish my research in Sport in Society. I felt an examination
of social media and sport would provide insight into how ideas of race are currently
being enforced and challenged in the United States. Considering the popularity of
both social media and sport, I believe they will continue to be the focus of future
research on race,” said Professor Dunne.